To Be A Hiro
by The People Speak
Summary: What makes a person a hero? It's hard to say. Lately, being a hero has meant sacrificing everything to save something. It could even mean having superpowers and saving the girl. And maybe the girl is a cheerleader. Fate is the spider and they are the branches: eternally connected. In which Hiro can see the strings. Strings of Fate AU set during Season One. One-shot.


**To Be A Hiro**

* * *

What makes a person a hero? It's hard to say. Lately, being a hero has meant sacrificing everything to save something. It could even mean having superpowers and saving the girl.

And maybe the girl is a cheerleader.

* * *

The moment Hiro meets Ando, he knows. This is the man with whom he will find his grand adventure. There is a string between them: a white one that runs between their left index fingers. Ando can't see it, but it excites Hiro. It is something he doesn't understand yet, but the idea makes his toes tingle.

* * *

When Hiro meets Nathan, he wonders if everyone is special. He does not get a string with Nathan, but there is a blue string that appears on his ring finger, going somewhere he doesn't know that is very similar to one on Nathan's hands. When the man dismisses him, Hiro wants to know where the blue string goes. But Nathan doesn't know what string Hiro is talking about.

* * *

Oddly enough, the next strings Hiro sees come from a young boy named Micah. Micah has a yellow one to his father DL, and a pink one that goes off into the distance, but it flickers and sometimes disappears. DL's red string goes in the same direction and flickers more often than Micah's. Hiro wonders if their partner is dying.

* * *

Hiro himself receives the next string. It is with Charlie, the charming waitress at the café who learns Japanese so easily. Their string is orange and is very bright. When Sylar gets to Charlie, the string does not disappear. Instead, it coils into a small ring around his finger, reminding him of her even as he goes back in time to save her but fails.

* * *

Hiro soon meets Isaac, the author of the comics. He does not get a string to Isaac, but Isaac has a pink one. Hiro would describe it as a soft rose. Unfortunately, the next time Hiro will see the pink string, it will be a band.

* * *

When his father stops him and Ando briefly, Hiro wonders why Micah had a string with his father, but he does not with his. He does not get one with his sister either, but he sees a flicker of green between Ando and Kimiko. It does not last, and the two return to their travels, but Hiro wonders the extent of receiving a string.

* * *

There has been no pain as bad as the pain he feels sending Ando away. The white string grows painfully tight and he feels as if he is being pulled halfway around the world to his friend. Hiro continues on, wondering how far these invisible strings can stretch and if they'd ever just snap. Losing Ando would be so painful; losing his string would be just as bad.

* * *

These funny colourful things are in more places. Hiro himself has only three: his blue one, Ando's and the band belonging to Charlie. He has begun to see them between ordinary people: crisscrosses of brilliant and vibrant colours between strangers and friends. The strings connect everything, or rather, they connect everyone.

* * *

It is in the museum when the pull of Ando's string lessens. Hiro does not think much of it, but he is so grateful, so happy, when Ando saves him. The white string is no longer pulled taught, it now hangs loosely between them, tied between their index fingers like it always has.

* * *

When he meets himself, five years in the future, he wonders if it's possible to gain a string with himself. He is curious to know if the future Hiro can even still see the strings. He notices his future self has more than the 3 strings that Hiro has now. A couple have banded, including Ando's. That is not a comforting thought.

* * *

Matt Parkman and the Haitian take him. They want his other self. Matt has three strings: a bright green that it runs off in some strange direction, a silver one that follows the same way and a light purple one. The Haitian has a wine coloured one that disappears straight into the ceiling.

* * *

Then Mohinder arrives and Matt's silver string goes to him. Matt leaves and Mohinder kills the Haitian and Hiro is free. He finds himself again, and before he can ask about the strings and his powers, the future Hiro dies. But Ando believes in him, so Hiro carries on.

* * *

They return to their own time and they go to look for Isaac. But now he is dead too, by Sylar's hand, and all his strings have banded. Hiro is beginning to feel a hate he has never felt before for Sylar. But when faced against the man, he cannot do it. Sylar has only two strings: yellow, which has banded for his mother, and dark green, which goes off in a random direction.

* * *

Then the sword is broken and Hiro doesn't know what to do. Ando finds the repairman and Hiro finds his father again. This time, a light blue string appears, running between father and son. Hiro is happy to see it, but the feeling is short lived because his white string is hurting and Ando has gone after Sylar.

* * *

Now Hiro takes his sword and goes to Sylar. He saved Ando and then they are in Japan. He must leave his friend behind and the white string stretches across the world, but Hiro is not worried. The dull throb of their bond is a constant reminder that it remains and that Ando is safe. It is reassuring.

* * *

Hiro returns to New York, and finds the answer to many of his questions. There are two men primed to explode and Hiro kills Sylar. Peter Petrelli is the other man and suddenly many of his questions are answered. Hiro's blue string, and Nathan's, both go to Peter. And the cheerleader girl, who Hiro thought was already dead, has a purple one with Peter.

Every person around them is teeming with colour. They all have a string, varying from black to white and everything in between, to Peter Petrelli. Peter's hands are a mess of colour and there are so many Hiro wonders how Peter can't know. But there is a second where he catches Peter staring at his hands in wonder and Hiro knows; he saw them. Hiro wonders how many strings a person can have, because Peter Petrelli has an impossible number.

The strings run back and forth between all of them in that square. They are all linked in a web to Peter Petrelli. Fate is the spider and they are the branches: connected eternally. Hiro gets another string: a yellow one to the cheerleader, Claire. She is crying for Peter and Hiro has to save the world.

* * *

But before he can kill Peter, and sever so many strings, Hiro is flying towards a building. Sylar is not dead, but Hiro doesn't have time to think. He uses his power and he vanishes. He is in the middle of a green grassy field and he is alone. His strings have all disappeared except one, a new bright pink one that goes vaguely in the direction of a lone figure on the hill.

Before he moves, Hiro sends a silent prayer that his friends are safe back in their time. Because this is not it, and all his strings haven't even been made yet. He wonders what their hands look like now and what Ando feels on the other end of the white string.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This is just a short ficlet for my best friend who requested I write something for Heroes starring Hiro. I accidentally hooked her on the show, but she really loves it. I complied and wrote this for her. I've always wanted to write a Strings of Fate AU so this was very interesting. Season 1 was my favourite of all the seasons of Heroes so I based this upon that. Anyways, if my productivity keeps up, we might, MIGHT, see an update for Sand soon. This is two one-shots in two days. Go me!

Don't forget to speak up!

~ Nicole


End file.
